NARITA, Sept 2 — As Malaysia Airlines tries to fashion itself into becoming a premium airline, the flag carrier has its work clearly cut out.

With aviation being a level playing field nowadays, and a fiercely competitive one at that, where low-cost no-frills carriers dominate the market, there is a need to establish and strengthen the airline’s brand in the global market.

No wonder that Malaysia Airlines is busy restructuring and upgrading.

Being ‘the best’ in the market goes beyond providing a wide range of destination choices and a good flight frequency. It involves many other factors, tangible and intangible.

Good quality service and passenger comfort is paramount in aviation.

Malaysia Airlines clearly demonstrates its understanding of this rule, exemplified by its slogan: “Malaysian Hospitality”.

“We decided to position ourselves as the number one in airline hospitality and as the preferred premium carrier.

“For that reason, Malaysia Airlines will always strive to understand what  the passengers want,” said Iskandar Ezzahuddin Ahmad Zulkiflee, the airline’s Vice President of Commercial Products.

MALAYSIAN HOSPITALITY

Backed by 40 years of experience, the airline hospitality business is not something foreign to Malaysia Airlines. The various international awards that the airline won, and its rating as a five-star airline by the Skytrax World Airline Award bears testimony to this fact.

But now wanting to rest on its laurels, Malaysia Airlines is constantly working hard to live up to its “Malaysian Hospitality” slogan, right from the ground, and up there in the skies.

Iskandar Ezzahuddin told this to Bernama during a recent media familiarisation trip with Malaysia Airlines to Narita, Japan.

“We extend a similar professional approach to our check-in services, in-flight dining and entertainment experience. The in-flight experience is very important for the passengers as up in the sky, you tend to only focus on those two things,” he said.

In-flight dining experience, in fact, is one of the deciding factors for passengers, specifically if you want the same passengers to patronise the airline in future. So, Malaysia Airlines is constantly working on specialised menus and has even introduced the “chef-on-call” service, a sort of industry first.

WHAT IS A CHEF-ON-CALL?

The chef-on-call is an exclusive service provided by the airline to its first and business class passengers. It offers an array of dishes, ranging from Malaysian favourites to menus for the health conscious, as well as the all-time favourite Western cuisines.

First class passengers are offered 20 menu choices while business class passengers are offered 15 choices.

Passengers can select their meal choices online before catching their flight by visiting www.malaysiaairlines.com/chefoncall or by simply calling the Malaysia Airlines call centre at 1300 88 3000.

However, the service is currently available only onboard flights to certain destinations, said Iskandar Ezzahuddin.

“Many passengers complain about the lack of meal choices or that the available cuisines are not suited to their taste buds. With the chef-on-call service, they can make their own selection up until 24 hours before departure,” he said.

To encourage the passengers to use this facility, Malaysia Airlines contacts passengers at least 72 hours before departure.

The exclusive service was launched in 2006 and is currently available exclusively on flights from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Istanbul, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Auckland.

The service was originally available only to the Frequent Flyer members of The Enrich Platinum category, traveling in first and business class. Later, it was extended to all first class passengers starting February 1, 2011 for the Kuala Lumpur-London and Kuala Lumpur-Sydney routes.

EXTENDED TO ORIENTAL ROUTES

The encouraging response to the service prompted Malaysia Airlines to extend this facility to oriental routes, starting Sept 5 this year.

This will now enable first class and business passengers from Narita, Osaka, Incheon, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur routes to enjoy the new and exclusive menu.

Passengers can indulge themselves with selections from the Malaysian, Western or Japanese menus.

Among the dishes in the new menu are grilled Japanese bluefish “nanban-style”, pan fried Greenland halibut with black bean sauce and braised lamb shoulder in rosemary juice.

Iskandar Ezzahuddin said the meals served were prepared by TFK Corporation, Malaysia Airlines’ in-flight caterer in Narita, and are halal.

MENU SELECTION

While planning and designing the new menu, the TFK Corporation worked together with Malaysia Airlines Executive Sous Chef Chef Abdul Razak Rejab to come up with dishes that would suit and satisfy the palates of passengers travelling the oriental routes.

Chef Abdul Razak said while developing the menu, several criteria like passenger profiles and the access to halal ingredients have to be taken into account.

“Menu selection is very important. Among others, we have to take into account factors like foods preferred by certain age groups such as children,” he said.

The chef has won several awards throughout his career, including for the preparation of “The Best Norwegian Salmon in Culinaire Malaysia 2007”, the gold medal for the preparation of fish and seafood in Culinaire Malaysia 1999 and the bronze medal in Culinaire Malaysia 2001.

Aside from the menu selection on the chef-on-call service, first and business class passengers are also served traditional Malaysian delicacies, the beef and chicken satay.

The exclusive dish won the “Best Airline Signature Dish of 2013” in the Skytrax World Airline Awards.

A NEW EXPERIENCE

With the introduction of the chef-on-call facility on the oriental routes, Malaysia Airlines hopes to see a growth in the number of passengers while strengthening its market share in the Asian region.

Malaysian Airlines will continue its commitment when it comes to providing passengers with a hospitable and unforgettable in-flight experience, true to its

“Malaysian Hospitality” slogan, so that it remains a contender in the premium carrier market. And when sky is the limit, how can it leave any stone unturned in proving its point? — Bernama